Support Amara Brown's Clash with Cancer

Amara Brown, a good friend of mine, was recently diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Before we get into the nitty gritty of her treatment plans, it's important for you to know more about who Amara is: Born in Chicago and raised in Syracuse, Amara is a lover of basketball, traveling, dancing, eating good food, and having a good time. She's definitely one of the healthiest people I know: she's a vegan, practices yoga daily, and looks like she's approaching 24 and not 40. Amara graduated from Northeastern University with an engineering degree, but turned down job opportunities in her field of study to give back by teaching high school math and pursuing a career in the field of education. Amara has served as a teacher coach, math tutor, college access program manager, business owner, and world traveler. She is currently a high school math teacher in Providence, Rhode Island, where she works tirelessly to support her students' math and social-emotional learning. She's been at her current school for just under a year, and she has already become a fan favorite among students.

We are all relieved that Amara's overall prognosis is good (Stage 2, Grade 3), but her options for treatment are very limited because the cancer is growing at a fast rate and she has two different types of cancer: triple negative in one breast and hormonal receptor positive in the other.

Amara's treatment plan will begin as soon as possible, and will likely include these steps:

One of Amara's hopes is to have children, and unfortunately, this diagnosis has derailed any immediate plans to do so and may impact her chances after treatment is complete. Prior to the start of treatment, her doctors have advised her to freeze eggs, which she is currently in the process of doing. Her cancer treatment will start immediately afterwards.

Luckily, Amara does have health insurance and short-term disability, but this will not cover all of her costs related to cancer and fertility treatments and overall cost of living with a reduced income while on short-term disability. Furthermore, Amara's partner lives internationally and her immediate family live out of state. They all hope to help provide care and support to her during her treatment process.

Please consider donating to support Amara during these difficult times. As a community, we can't eliminate the cancer diagnosis, but we can make this process easier by supporting her financially to help with the following:

Whether you can donate $5, $50, or $500, any amount will be helpful in helping ease the financial strains that this diagnosis has brought on. Sincerely, thank you.